1999 Integrated Pest Management Annual Report

Soybean Cyst Nematode

Ranked annually as the most damaging pest of soybeans throughout the midwest, the soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is costing Illinois producers $18 to $20 million each year in crop losses.

Yield losses of 5 to 15 bushels per acre are possible and may occur without any above-ground symptoms. University of Illinois field and campus-based staff cooperate with representatives from several organizations and sponsors in an effort to increase producers? knowledge of this pest. Those organizations include the Illinois Soil Testing Association, Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board, and various private organizations and state agencies. At these educational sessions, soybean producers have been encouraged to submit soil samples.

Educational programs aimed at improving the management of soybean cyst nematodes were conducted at 23 locations and involved 3,365 face-to-face contacts with farmers, crop consultants, and agribusiness representatives. Besides these contacts, news releases, radio presentations, bulletins, and other Extension publications reached an estimated audience of 12,000.

Twenty-five years ago, only a few SCN-resistant public varieties were available. Today, through the efforts of public and private breeders, over 400 resistant lines can be grown in Illinois. In 1998, four new resistant varieties were released by soybean breeders at the University of Illinois. These varieties have greater yield potential and, for the first time, offer resistance to more than five races of this pest.

University of Illinois management recommendations for SCN include an integration of the following strategies:

• Detection through scouting procedures involving root examinations and soil sampling

• Crop rotation utilizing nonhost crops and resistant soybean varieties

• Maintaining proper soil fertility and pH

• Managing other soybean pests

• Proper planting methods

Costly nematicides are no longer recommended as a management approach.

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